S.A. ranks high among U.S. metros

Brookings tally also has four other Texas cities in top 20.

Updated 7:35 pm, Tuesday, June 21, 2011

San Antonio, along with Houston, Austin, El Paso and McAllen, remains in the top 20 U.S. metropolitan areas for economic performance in the latest Brookings Institution Metro Monitor report.

The rankings look at the 100 largest U.S. cities for the first quarter of 2011. The top-performing Texas cities each have top 10 rankings in at least two of four main indicators, including employment, metropolitan economic growth and housing prices.

The five Texas cities have consistently ranked high in the Brookings Metro Monitor reports since they started eight quarters ago.

San Antonio ranks No. 3 for housing price change for the first quarter with a 2 percent decline, compared with an average decline of 4.2 percent among the 100 largest cities.

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The Alamo City ranks fourth in change in total employment from the third quarter of 2008, when U.S. employment was at its peak, with a decline of 0.6 percent compared with the 100-metro average decline of 5.3 percent.

San Antonio ranks eighth in metropolitan economic growth with a 1 percent rise during the first quarter of 2011, compared with an average of 0.5 percent among the 100 cities.

Commentary in the Brookings report adds the reduction in government employment to the list of factors hurting economic recovery among the largest U.S. cities. Weak job growth and falling homes prices continue to hinder the economy, the report says.

“Our metro areas are not recovering strongly or consistently,” said Howard Wial, a Brookings fellow and co-author of the report. “Job growth is sluggish. Unemployment remains high. Housing prices have hit new lows. On top of that, cuts in government employment have contributed to the slowdown.”

Houston ranks No. 1 in one-quarter change in metropolitan economic growth with a 3.3 percent increase. It's listed at No. 9 for change in total employment with a 1.8 percent decline from the third quarter of 2008.

The Houston metro area ranks No. 8 for change in housing prices from the first quarter of 2009, when U.S. home prices were at their highest, with a 9.1 percent decline compared with the 100-city average decline of 26.5 percent.

Austin ranks No. 3 for change in total employment with a 0.3 percent decline. It's No. 4 for one-quarter change in metropolitan economic growth with a 1.4 percent increase.

El Paso ranks second in the country for change in total employment from the fourth quarter of 2008 with a 2 percent increase, and fifth in the nation for change in total employment from the third quarter of 2009, the worst quarter during the recession, with a 3.2 percent increase. El Paso's first-quarter 2011 change in metropolitan economic growth of 0.9 percent is the nation's 10th-best.

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McAllen ranks No. 1 in the nation for change in total employment with a 2.2 percent increase and third in the country for change in total employment with a 3.4 percent increase. Its 1 percent employment gain in the first quarter of the year is the nation's fourth-best. McAllen's one-quarter change in metropolitan economic growth of 1.7 percent is the country's third-best.